


Living History

by twelvemorestopsandhome



Category: The White Queen (TV)
Genre: F/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-28
Updated: 2013-08-28
Packaged: 2017-12-24 22:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/945596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twelvemorestopsandhome/pseuds/twelvemorestopsandhome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern!AU where Anne and Richard work in a medieval castle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Living History

**Author's Note:**

> cullenaalice prompted: you know, that tag of your last anne/richard reblog (http://twelvemorestopsandhome.tumblr.com/post/59336460196/whitequeencouples-dreamingsnowflake2013-my)it could be a perfect au in which anne and richard are dressed as in the medieval england because the school or maybe because they work in the summer there in the castle as actors? and richard love take pictures of anne in the middletime, when she dress all those beautiful dresses and he can think she is his lady and he her knight. but yeah, basically an au.
> 
> Thank you all so much for the all the love and commnets on the other ficlets!

She had genuinely forgotten he worked here until she sees him parking his car early on her first morning at Warwick Castle. He’s her sister’s boyfriends brother and they have very little to do with each other really. Their parents move in similar circles and now that Izzy and George are a thing, they often end up at the same social events but she wouldn’t consider them friends.

Izzy had laughed at her when Anne proudly told her family she’d gotten a job in the living history section of Warwick Castle but Anne didn’t care, she didn’t fancy wasting her summer down in Chelsea with posers and couldn’t imagine why Izzy would want to either.

 

*

Working in a medieval castle is fun and the costumes she wears are breathtaking. The summer is a busy season but the time passes quickly between the history buffs and the children to keep her entertained. She hasn’t seen much of Richard, he is usually outside while she flits around the Queen’s quarters. Today, however because of the torrential English summer rain (that somehow still involved the sun shining,) they are working the same zone, the  _War of the Roses_ exhibition, red and white roses everywhere. The rain has seemingly changed many tourists plans as many of the rooms are completely deserted save for her fellow living history actors. Shelly, another newbie like herself, shrugs at her as she passes so Anne keeps moving.

Richard is lounging on the wide windowsill underneath the farthermost window from the door. Many of the rooms are non-descipt. Was this a great hall? A living room? A bedroom? Today, it holds a selection of War of the Roses era weapons replicas. A giant ‘Battle of Bosworth’ exhibition takes over the entire back wall.

“Oh shit.” Richard jumps up as Anne makes her way through the room.

“Sorry, I didn’t meant to scare you. Don’t get up on my account.” she laughs.

“Oh well, you’re a Lady see so I must stand.” he recovers quickly and even bows.

“They have you well trained.” Anne teases after returning the bow.

“Medieval reenactment is a serious business.” he tells her knowingly. “How are you settling in?”

“I love it.” Anne admits with a bright smile. “I think being in a castle suits me. Mum is adamant we’re descended from a king or a earl or something so that must be why.” She shrugs nonchalantly, tongue firmly in cheek

“There was a Queen Anne at some stage, wasn’t there?” Richard asks

“There has been two Queen Anne’s I’ll have you know.” Anne tells him proudly.

“Ha! There’s been three King Richard’s!” Richard gives a little bounce on his heels ‘I win.”

“Okay, I’ll give you Richard the Lionheart. But then you have Richard II who I don’t know very much about but I’m pretty sure it didn’t end well and then you have” she gestures dramatically to the display on the wall behind her “a tyrant you killed his own nephews to seize the crown.”

“Hey! There is no proof of that. He could have been framed.”

“Perhaps” Anne concedes “but this is how history has remembered him and in the end that’s the only thing that counts.”

He looks at her strangely then, narrows his eyes slightly and smiles. “That’s very wise, Anne.”

She blushes and that shocks her. No-one has made her blush in a long time.

He is still looking at her strangely when he asks “Can you wait there just a sec? I’ll be right back.”

*

He’s gone long enough for Anne to wonder why they never spent time together before.

*

He reenters the room holding a camera far too fancy to be brought to work.

“Can I?” he holds it up by way of explanation and Anne just blinks at him.

“You want to take my photo?” she asks, eyes wide.

“If that’s okay. It’s just the light is perfect and you look-” he trails off awkwardly.

“Okay then.” she agrees and if she was blushing before, she’s pretty sure she’s the colour of a beetroot now.

_Click. Click. Click._

*

He catches up with her a few days later on the lawn. The rain has thankfully past and the castle is busy with customers once again. He bows to her as they’re are visitor and tourist around “May I?” and takes her arm and he heart gives a jolt that it didn’t give when she saw him last days before.

“So I did a bit of research last night…” he starts as they turn back toward the main castle.

“Oh yes?” she breaths, preoccupied by the butterflies in her stomach.

“Yes and one of your Queen Anne’s, the first one, was married to our friend, Richard III.” he says as if it were the most scandalous thing he has ever heard.

Anne chokes on air. “I…I did not know that.”

“Well, woman do tend to be written out of history.” Richard sighs and Anne falls a little bit in love with him.

“So for all we know, she was the one who killed the princes in the tower!”

“Whoa whoa whoa. You can’t just throw around accusations like that.” Anne pulls her arm from his.

“Or maybe” his eyes widened with possibility ‘they planned it together.”

“Or maybe it was someone else entirely.” Anne suggests.

“Oh, now that one of your queens is involved, he’s innocent all of a sudden.” Richard teases nudging her with an elbow.

“We’ll never know I guess” Anne shrugs. “Which makes it all the more interesting, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely” he says softly and there’s that strange look again.

*

“They came out really well.” he seems happy with himself as he hands her the folder one evening as she is about to get in her car.

Anne groans “I’m sure you did a great job but no-one wants to look at pictures of them self.” she shakes her head, holding the unopened folder.

“Oh come on, you look beautiful.” he says taking the folder back and opening it “See?”

“That’s the dresses and the light, but thank you. They are lovely.” she smiles running a finger down the top photo.

“You look beautiful all the time.” he says and it’s weighted in a way she’s never heard from him before.

She looks up and he’s looking at her the way he did when he took the pictures, the way he has been looking at her more and more since that day.

“I can’t breath when you look at me like that.” she admits with an almost laugh

“I can’t breath when I look at you”

He kisses her then because he can’t  _not,_ because their Anne and Richard and this is how it’s supposed to be.

“Do you think they loved each other? Anne and Richard?” she asks and it’s probably the last thing he thought she was going to say.

“I don’t know she felt about him” he keeps their lips close “but I’m certain he  _adored_  her.”

He leans in again but she catches his chin in her right hand. “I’m pretty certain she adored him too.” she assures and let’s their lips meet.

 


End file.
